1950–51 United States network television schedule

The 1950–51 United States network television schedule began in September of 1950 and ended in the spring of 1951. This season became the first in which primetime was entirely covered by the networks. It was also the inaugural season of the Nielsen rating system. Late in the season, the coast-to-coast link was in service.

CBS answered NBC's schedule with big radio stars and variety programs of its own, bringing in Frank Sinatra and (in occasional specials) Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, and Edgar Bergen. "Despite the big budget variety shows in its schedule, though, CBS felt that situation comedy was actually a more stable television form that would be easier to exploit in the long run."[1]

In many time slots, the underfunded DuMont Network did not bother to compete against NBC's or CBS's hit series, instead airing what some TV historians have called "time-filler". For example: "During its long run [The Johns Hopkins Science Review] was scheduled against such hit shows as Break the Bank [and] Dragnet, programs from which its network had little chance of luring away viewers."[2] During fall 1950, The Court of Current Issues and The Johns Hopkins Science Review aired at the same time as the most heavily viewed program on television, NBC's Texaco Star Theater. Given the competition, DuMont's Tuesday night public-affairs programming attracted virtually no audience. The network had some success with a crime drama that had debuted in January the previous season titled Inside Detective (later retitled Rocky King, Detective), which became one of the longest-running series on the network. Another DuMont series to debut during the season, Star Time, while short-lived, is remembered for including a television version of the popular radio sketches The Bickersons, and for being an early example of a sponsored network series to feature an African-American as a regular (jazz pianist Teddy Wilson, a familiar member of the Benny Goodman Sextet).

From May 29, 1950 through August 24, 1951, NBC aired programming in the late night television time slot, the first U.S. television network to do so.

None of the other three major broadcast networks (CBS, Du Mont or ABC) attempted late-night TV during this time frame. Du Mont's first and only show would begin in 1954 (the same year NBC returned to the time slot after a three-year hiatus), ABC would begin in 1964 and CBS in 1969. Most stations in this early period of television signed off during the late night hours.

Talk/variety shows are highlited in yellow, local programming is white.

Talk shows are highlighted in yellow, local programming is white, reruns of prime-time programming are orange, game shows are pink, soap operas are chartreuse, news programs are gold and all others are light blue. New series are highlighted in bold.

Note: The DuMont Television Network still missing in the schedules. All Monday–Friday Shows for all networks beginning in September 1950.

Broadway to Hollywood was an early American television program broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network. While the daytime version was mainly a talk show with news, celebrity gossip, and home-viewer quizzes, the quiz portion became a full-fledged nighttime version within two weeks of the program's debut.

Hold That Camera is an American game show that ran on the DuMont Television Network's primetime schedule from August 27 to December 15, 1950. The series aired on Fridays at 8:30 PM Eastern.

Originally a game show hosted by Jimmy Blaine (1924-1967), after the first few episodes the format was completely overhauled into a variety show with Kyle MacDonnell as host. MacDonnell (1922-2004) was named "Miss Television 1948" by Time magazine. The orchestra leader was Ving Merlin.

Hollywood Screen Test is an American talent show which aired on ABC from 1948 to 1953. This program holds the distinction as the first regularly broadcast television series by the American Broadcasting Company.

Pro Football Highlights, also known as Football News or Football Highlights, was a 30-minute TV sports program broadcast by ABC (1950–1951) and the DuMont Television Network (1951–1953). The ABC version aired Fridays at 8:30 pm ET and the DuMont version aired Wednesdays at 7:30pm ET.

The Hank McCune Show was an American television situation comedy. Filmed without a studio audience, the series is notable for being the first television program to incorporate a laugh track.The series began as a local Los Angeles program in 1949. NBC placed it on its national primetime schedule at the start of the 1950-51 season. It debuted at 7:00pm Eastern Time on September 9 and was cancelled three months later. It was briefly resurrected as a syndicated program in 1953-54, but without a laugh track.

The Hazel Scott Show was an early American television program broadcast on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. The series, hosted by Hazel Scott, ran during the summer of 1950, and is most notable for being one of the first U.S. network television series to be hosted by any person of African descent.

The Most Important People (also known as Mr. and Mrs. Carroll) was a 15-minute musical variety show on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network, hosted by orchestra leader Jimmy Carroll (1913-1972) and his wife Rita Carroll. The show aired Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm EST from October 18, 1950, to April 13, 1951. The title referred to babies, since the sponsor was Gerber's Baby Food.

Versatile Varieties, also known as Bonnie Maid Versatile Varieties and Bonny Maid Versatile Varieties, was a TV series that ran from 1949 to 1951 on NBC, CBS and ABC under three different formats. The sponsor was "Bonnie Maid Linoleum".

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